pawl, detent, click, dog
(noun) a hinged catch that fits into a notch of a ratchet to move a wheel forward or prevent it from moving backward
Source: WordNet® 3.1
pawl (plural pawls)
A pivoted catch designed to fall into a notch on a ratchet wheel so as to allow movement in only one direction (e.g. on a windlass or in a clock mechanism), or alternatively to move the wheel in one direction.
A similar device to prevent motion in other mechanisms besides ratchets.
pawl (third-person singular simple present pawls, present participle pawling, simple past and past participle pawled)
(transitive) To stop with a pawl.
• Walp, plaw
Source: Wiktionary
Pawl, n. Etym: [W. pawl a pole, a stake. Cf. Pole a stake.] (Mach.)
Definition: A pivoted tongue, or sliding bolt, on one part of a machine, adapted to fall into notches, or interdental spaces, on another part, as a ratchet wheel, in such a manner as to permit motion in one direction and prevent it in the reverse, as in a windlass; a catch, click, or detent. See Illust. of Ratchet Wheel. [Written also paul, or pall.] Pawl bitt (Naut.), a heavy timber, set abaft the windlass, to receive the strain of the pawls.
– Pawl rim or ring (Naut.), a stationary metallic ring surrounding the base of a capstan, having notches for the pawls to catch in.
Pawl, v. t.
Definition: To stop with a pawl; to drop the pawls off. To pawl the capstan. See under Capstan.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
6 May 2025
(adjective) marked by or paying little heed or attention; “We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics”--Franklin D. Roosevelt; “heedless of danger”; “heedless of the child’s crying”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
